S&P 500 is little changed as index tries to avoid 3-day losing streak

The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Tuesday, a day after the index posted back-to-back losses.

The broad market S&P 500 hovered around the flatline, as did the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 85 points, or 0.2%.

The three major averages are coming off a losing session, led by losses in tech. Nvidia dropped more than 1% in the prior trading day, and fellow AI play Palantir Technologies slid 2.4%.

That said, those names — and others in the trade such as Advanced Micro Devices — have still been big winners this year. Nvidia has risen 39% in the period, while Palantir and AMD have surged 143% and 78%, respectively.

Gains in AI should be poised to continue in the new year, according to Bill Northey of U.S. Bank Asset Management, who cited the fundamentals underlying the technology and data center buildout.

“The clear early beneficiaries to this have been more the picks-and-shovels components, where we’re looking at semiconductors and the main primary feed stocks into the buildout,” he said. “We believe that as we move into 2026, it may actually be more the beneficiaries of the application of artificial intelligence who begin to see some of those productivity gains and see corporate earnings acceleration.”

“We do believe that there is some opportunity for broadening that exists in 2026 where we have had some relatively narrow leadership through the course of this year,” he added.